ADDISON WEAST - 16 months (2010) - Henderson NV

Addison Weast

16-month-old

April 2, 2010
Henderson, NV‎
Cody Geddings, 24, appeared
in court on charges he killed Addison Weast while he was babysitting
her.
She was rushed to the hospital after the beating on March 31st.
According to the police report, the girl's skull was shattered on her
right side.
The child's mother, Jaime Higgons, told police that she
left the child with Geddings while she attended a class. She told the
hospital that the child fell out of a playpen, which is what she was
told by Geddings. The hospital staff contacted police after noting the
injuries were too severe for a fall.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Family members will gather
at Sunset Park Thursday night to remember a 16-month-old girl police
said was killed by her mother’s boyfriend.Addison Weast was brought to University Medical Center March 31. She was pronounced brain dead two days later.Doctors
said they were unable to revive the girl after she was brought to the
hospital with severe head injuries, including a partially shattered
skull and swelling of the brain.Weast’s mother, 19-year-old
Jaime Higgons, told police the girl was left in the care of her
boyfriend, 24-year-old Cody Geddings.Geddings is charged with
murder. Police said he didn’t call 911 after the girl was injured and
lied to Higgons and to investigators who questioned him about what
happened.Geddings will be in court for his arraignment April 12.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Henderson man accused of
killing his girlfriend’s 16-month-old daughter never called 911 after
the girl was injured, police said, because he didn’t want to get in
trouble.Instead, 24-year-old-Cody Geddings waited 20 minutes
until the girl’s mother came home, and then the child was rushed to St.
Rose de Lima Hospital.That’s according to Geddings’ arrest report, which details the March 31 incident and his previous run-in with the law.Geddings
was arrested in June 2009 and charged with child abuse and neglect. At
the time of his first arrest, police said Geddings squeezed his own son
and admitted to bouts of rage and loss of temper.Last week,
Geddings’ girlfriend, 19-year-old Jaime Higgons, told police she was on
her way home from cosmetology school when Geddings called, saying the
girl had fallen from her crib.Doctors said the child suffered
from a partially shattered skull, swelling of the brain and retinal
hemorrhaging. She died after being transferred to the children’s trauma
unit at University Medical Center.Geddings, in the arrest
report, told police he put the girl in her crib before taking a nap and
woke up to find she had fallen onto the ground.But after two
hours of questioning, police said Geddings changed his story, telling
them he was working in the back yard when a full-sized acetylene gas
cylinder fell off a stool and crushed the baby.Detectives later
determined the second story wasn’t plausible and said there was no
evidence that backed up what was said about the gas cylinder.Because of the conflicting stories and the fact that no one called 911, Geddings was charged with murder.Higgons hasn’t been charged, because police said Geddings lied to her about how the child was injured.

A 24-year-old Henderson man accused of killing a 16-month-old girl is being
held without bail in the Henderson Detention Center.
Cody Geddings was booked on murder charges Friday night after the girl died,
police said.


Detectives were called to St. Rose de Lima Hospital at 1:40 p.m. Wednesday in
response to a toddler who suffered serious head injuries, Henderson Police
spokesman Keith Paul said. The child’s mother, 19-year-old Jaime Higgons, took
her to the hospital saying the child had fallen from her crib, but police said
the severity of the injuries was inconsistent with that explanation.
According to a Henderson Police arrest report, Higgons told authorities her
boyfriend was babysitting the toddler, identified as Addison Weast, when the
injury occurred. Geddings gave police various explanations for the injuries to
the child, but police said none was credible.
According to the arrest report, Weast was taken from St. Rose de Lima
Hospital to UMC's trauma unit for surgery. At the time the girl was transported
her vital signs were stable, but police say it became apparent she had suffered
possible head or spinal injuries.
At UMC, doctors discovered that the child’s skull, above her right ear, had
been shattered. Weast suffered hemorrhaging in her brain, police said.
Police questioned Geddings for two hours, during which Geddings provided two
explanations for the child’s injuries. In the first explanation, he told police
the girl had a seizure while she was in her playpen. In the second, he told
police she had been playing near a wobbly chair in the backyard of his home, and
that a full-sized acetylene gas cylinder had fallen on her.
Geddings told police that he then called Higgons to tell her Weast was
injured. Higgons told police that after Geddings called her, it took her about
20 minutes to get home.
According to the arrest report, Geddings didn't call 911 or make any calls
for medical help.
Geddings told police that he placed the child next to her playpen to make it
appear that she had fallen out because he feared he would be blamed. Court
records indicate Geddings has also been arrested in connection with the abuse
and neglect of his own son.
Geddings is set to be sentenced May 5 on a gross misdemeanor count of child
endangerment. He was initially charged with felony child abuse before pleading
guilty to the reduced charge of child endangerment, district court records
show.
According to a police report from the time of Geddings’ arrest in July 2009,
police responded to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals – Siena Campus after receiving
a report of a child who fell out of his father’s hands and landed face down on
the floor.
The report said Geddings told nurses and officers he had just finished
bathing his six-week-old son and had taken him to the bedroom to dress him. As
he held his son in one hand, he reached for a diaper with the other and the boy
slipped out of his grip, he said. As he reached to grab the falling baby, he was
only able to reach the boy’s foot and grabbing his foot caused the child to
rotate and land facedown, the police report said.
Medical personnel told police that the boy might have a broken nose, a skull
fracture and other serious injuries so an investigation into possible child
abuse was started.
A nurse told police the infant was foaming at the mouth and going in and out
of consciousness when he arrived at the hospital. The baby had bruises and
abrasions, the report said.
Geddings’ explanations were inconsistent with the boy’s injuries, police
said. The boy was eventually released from the hospital three days later with no
serious injuries, the report said.
Geddings’ wife told police she hadn’t been home at the time. She told police
she didn’t believe her husband would intentionally harm the child, the report
stated.
In a later interview with police, Geddings offered another explanation for
the bruises on his son. He told police he was upset with his wife and that he
was holding his son on his lap while they were arguing. He said he might have
squeezed his son’s legs and arms to the point where bruising and marks were
left, the report said.
He also told police that his relationship with his wife was sometimes
violent. He admitted to sometimes losing his temper and explained that in
previous fits of rage, he hit walls and had broken windows. He said he knows he
can lose his temper, the police report said.
He used a doll to show police where he had squeezed his son, and those areas
were consistent with where bruises were found, the report stated.
The maximum sentence Geddings could receive on the child endangerment charge
is a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He was released from custody in July after
posting $3,000 bail, court records show.
Geddings previously served jail time for other felony convictions in two
other cases, court records show.
In 2005, Geddings was accused of stealing tires and rims and pleaded guilty
to one count of grand larceny. He was sentenced to a maximum of three years in
jail.
He also served jail time in connection with a 2003 case in which he was
accused of stealing a car and setting it on fire in the desert. He was first
sentenced to probation, but it was later revoked, court records show.

The family of a 16-month-old Henderson child who was murdered is
speaking out. Not only are they sharing memories of Addison Weast, they
are also want her alleged killer to pay.
Cody Geddings, who was the boyfriend of Addison's mother, is in jail
accused of murder. Police believe the 24-year-old man shattered the
girl's skull while he was babysitting her last week.
The Weast family held a fundraiser at Sunset Park Thursday to raise
money to help pay for Addison's funeral. The emotions are still very
fresh for the child's family. They say they adored Addison.
Her biological father, Charles Weast, has not been able to talk publicly
about his daughter's death but the grandparents are now speaking out.
"He took our baby. She was a beautiful beautiful baby, very happy,
very beautiful. He stole something from us that can never come back,"
said Lurleene Weast, grandmother.
Family members are outraged that Addison was left with Geddings who
was facing another child abuse charge involving his infant son. He was
supposed to be sentenced for that charge in May. Family members say if
the court system moved faster, maybe Geddings would have been behind
bars before he could hurt another child.
"I want to know why he wasn't in jail so he wouldn't have been around
to hurt her. It doesn't make sense. If he could hurt a newborn, why
would they let him out so he could hurt another child," said Weast.
The family says Charles Weast, the baby's father, warned Addison's
mother about Cody Geddings saying he didn't trust him.
Addison's mother, Jaime Higgons, was contacted but
declined to be interviewed.

In High school during the spring time of 2002 my bike was stolen from
the school bike racks. Later during the year--as I checked the bike
racks periodically to see if my bike would show up--I recognized my bike
frame with many other different bike parts on it. It was painted with
multiple colors and layers of paint that were different from the
original white color. As I identified the serial number on the frame to
the school police, the school police confiscated the bike from Cody when
he came to get the bike after school let out for the day. As far as I
know Cody might have received a "slap on the wrist," but no serious
punishment; he did not repay me the damages of bike parts either.

That was the second bike that was stolen from me that school year; in
the fall of 2001 both my brother and my bike was stolen from the school
bike racks. Because the bike I repossessed had many different bike
pieces that were painted different colors than the colors they had
originated from stores with, that indicated he had stolen--or had traded
with other people that had stolen--many other bikes, including my
brother's bike and my previous bike. Unfortunately, it would seem that
since Cody Geddings was not punished sufficiently for past crimes, he has
continued to commit more serious crimes.

Thanks for your story bklames! It's imperative that miscreants like this are caught and given earlier intervention that will hopefully prevent them from escalating their crimes in the future. If someone believes they won't be punished for wrongdoing, then they will continue on their descent into more heinous and offensive crimes.

Welcome to our forum bkalmes. It is indeed unfortunate that young people are not held accountable for their actions, and so they come to believe that excuses for their crimes against another person is acceptable because they are not held accountable. Unbelievably they are often supported by family which reinforces their behavior. Here's an example copied from above of this charming family.
Family members are outraged that Addison was left with Geddings who was
facing another child abuse charge involving his infant son. He was supposed
to be sentenced for that charge in May. Family members say if the
court system moved faster, maybe Geddings would have been behind bars
before he could hurt another child.
"I want to know why he wasn't in
jail so he wouldn't have been around to hurt her. It doesn't make
sense. If he could hurt a newborn, why would they let him out so he
could hurt another child," said Weast.
The family says Charles Weast,
the baby's father, warned Addison's
mother about Cody Geddings
saying he didn't trust him.
Addison's mother, Jaime Higgons, was
contacted but
declined to be interviewed.
You can see the pathetic mentality of the babies extended family here where they are "outraged" that the authorities allowed this creep to be on the streets. They obviously don't even dream of critisising the mother for taking in a creep of a boyfriend and using him to mind her child. Oh no, she's without blame, it's all down to the authorities. Apparently she has no mind of her own. She made STUPID choices and was totally irresponsible to the point where she did not protect her child and left him to the mercy of a creep of a boyfriend. There's no acknowledgment from the family that this dickhead teenager got up the duff at 18 and then expected at least one unsuitable boyfriend to care for him. What do these people expect of the maxed out authorities? Do they have to wipe their noses? The babies father is an irresponsible creep to have got a young girl pregnant and he obviously wasn't taking responsibility for his child but his family have the nerve to lash out at some idiot government department for letting this happen? As if a bunch of employees in a govt department can be held responsible for the disasters all these pathetic people create. I'm so heartily SICK of this sort of thing happening EVERY day and reading about the families who supposedly love this child so much, blaming someone else, every time. WTF were they????????????????????? They can blame the court system all they like but the mother cannot have known this guy very well if she didn't know his past and if she didn't know him well she had no right to bring him into her babies life, let alone leave him to look after Addison. It's bad enough that every single day I read about 2 or 3 cases like this; EVERY FF DAY! It's just too much when the family get all indignant about some govt department instead of taking a good long look at themselves. They all make me sick to my stomach.

P.S. So sorry to rant on but it really gets to me. It's a pity that this creep got away with stealing your bikes when he was young because sometimes if they get appropriate consequences early enough they will not continue down the wrong path. Ultimatley though, it comes down to what the parents did about it, not just the authorities. Sadly, I expect his family made excuses for him. I hope you join us on the main blog. I'm not always grumpy

Kiwimom, you have no idea what you're talking about. Charlie, the father, is a friend of mine and he was dealing a custody battle for Addison at the time this tragedy took place. At that time Addison was not in his custody, nor did he have control over the mother's decision to leave Addison with Cody. The family they speak of that is "outraged" comes mostly from Charlie's side. They are the ones responsible for the fundraisers that took place before the funeral. Believe me, Jaime, the mother, has taken all kinds of criticism for being irresponsible enough to leave Addison with Cody. Especially since she was in fact aware of Cody's previous child abuse charges. Many of Charlie's family and friends want to see her face charges as well. Unfortunately, only the law can make that decision. So please don't jump to conclusions about this case when you have nothing to go by other than what they feed you on the news. Charlie was a great father, he loved his daughter tremendously, and he was incredibly hurt by the loss.

X, welcome, and thank you for clearing up a few things. We appreciate having all the facts, not just what the media reports.

I DO hope the mom faces charges, in fact, if I were you, I would start a petition or a campaign or call the DA's office EVERY DAMN DAY demanding she face charges. There's another case here, Dominick Calhoun's case, where that is exactly what has happened. The mom left her boyfriend in charge, he killed the baby, and she is now facing 2nd degree murder charges. Maybe if these moms knew that were going to be held accountable for their stupid, reckless, endangering choices, some would think twice before leaving their babies with these boyfriends.

Please keep us updated on what is happening. Addison deserves justice. Be her voice.

Link to Dominick's thread:

http://www.justice4caylee.org/murdered-children-f38/dominick-calhoun-4-yo-argentine-flint-mi-t5890.htm

Charlie's family might be holding the justice system partially at fault, but given the circumstances you can't really blame them for it. During the custody battle there were several pictures submitted taken inside Jaime's apartment showing her with groups of friends (including Cody Geddings) having parties, all holding beers, while Addison was under her care. In some of the photos you could even see Addison's crib in the background. But even with that being shown to the court, Addison remained in her custody long enough for this to happen. Not only that, it hasn't even been a year since Cody abused his own child. There's no reason he shouldn't have been in jail with the evidence provided. Charlie and his family have the right to be angry, simply because Addison was trusted in the hands of an unfit mother. Nobody in his family blames the court entirely, the only ones that are truly at fault would be Cody himself and Jaime. But given the circumstances of Charlie and his family, it's extremely frustrating for them. He was TRYING to gain custody of his daughter, unfortunately this had to happen before he was able to.

After those photos were shown to the court in a custody battle, it blows my mind that Addison wasn't immediately taken from Jaime's custody until further investigation. Even if it meant Addison would temporarily be placed in protective care from someone other than Charlie or a family member. I feel there was no reason that someone that young, having parties under the same roof as an infant, with an abusive boyfriend, should be awarded ANY sort of custody. So yes, Charlie's family could do nothing but depend on the court system to give him his daughter. Therefore, I can understand why they would be angry with our justice system.

This was one of the photos from inside her apartment while Addison was in her care. She removed all the ones with evidence of Addison after they were being used against her in court, but this is one of many that was taken that night. You can see her in the middle, and Cody on the left.

The system is broken. No doubt about it.

http://www.justice4caylee.org/child-advocacy-news-f24/

XsicXhereticX wrote:

This was one of the photos from inside her apartment while Addison was in her care. She removed all the ones with evidence of Addison after they were being used against her in court, but this is one of many that was taken that night. You can see her in the middle, and Cody on the left.

Charming. I would DEMAND charges be pressed.